


Skull Sorcerer Cole

by YeetMyselfToMars



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Corruption, Elemental Magic, Master of the Mountain, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Other, Season/Series 13, Season/Series 13 Spoilers, elemental powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26126839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YeetMyselfToMars/pseuds/YeetMyselfToMars
Summary: When confronted by the Skull Sorcerer, Cole makes the split-second decision to try and destroy the Skull of Hazza Dúr. However, things don't go according to plan...(This fic was inspired by McFaneLy's Skull Sorcerer Cole artwork on Tumblr, so please go check them out!!)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	1. Corruption

“Intruders!” the skull shrieked.

“Damn it,” Cole thought, “so much for sneaking in here.”  
It was only seconds later that the so-called Skull Sorcerer descended from the large hole in the ceiling of the cave, landing in front of Cole and Lloyd.

“You have made a grave mistake coming here.” he warned. The disembodied skull then pushed past the two and floated towards its master. 

“Now you will pay!”

The Skull Sorcerer grabbed it and flung the skull at the two ninjas, it soaring through the air with a malicious screech.

Cole’s first instinct was to hit the skull and fling it out of the way, but then he got an idea: if he could break the skull, would this sorcerer lose his power, or at the very least a weapon? He was the Master of Earth, and between his already existing super strength and his new stronger lava-arm powers, a flimsy old skull would be no problem, right?

As the skull flew towards him, Cole jumped up and grabbed it in midair. As he landed and began to try and break it, he suddenly felt stiff. He couldn’t move, his arms felt weak, and he stopped tightening his grip. Cole watched in horror as an inky, dark color began to creep up his arms from the skull.

“What are you doing?” the Skull Sorcerer cried as he suddenly collapsed to the ground, and his wings and clothing started to melt away.

“Cole, let go of it!” Lloyd yelled as he watched his brother fall to his knees.

Cole’s ears were ringing; he could barely hear Lloyd. Everything seemed to slow down, and he didn’t even notice the mask of the Skull Sorcerer fade away, revealing his identity to be King Vangelis. He felt the dark power of the skull enveloping his entire body, chilling him to the bone. What scared him more was that even though he wanted this to stop, the feeling of this power felt almost welcoming as it finally washed over his body.

Lloyd’s blood turned to ice as he heard Cole begin to laugh. It wasn’t like his normal, cheery laugh. It sounded hollow. Cold. Wicked. As the Earth ninja stood up, he noticed his friend’s clothing had changed. His gi was replaced with a long black robe similar to the Skull Sorcerer’s, along with a torn-looking cape. His gloves were now fitted with what looked like claws, and in place of his shoulder plate on either side were large black spikes, which looked like crystals. Cole turned around and looked to Lloyd, his eyes and the scar on his forehead glowing green, and a venomous grin across his face.

“So, this is the true power of the Skull Sorcerer? It feels...” he trailed off as he looked at his new guise.

“Amazing.”

“You are powerful!” the skull chimed, floating up to Cole as he observed himself. “Much more than this pathetic weakling.” it turned and glared at King Vangelis, who was watching on in horror along with Lloyd.

“I’ve never felt like this before... like I could take on anyone.”

“Yes, yes!” the skull cried, “All who oppose you will be destroyed! All will bend to your will! You are the Skull Sorcerer!”

Cole smiled with a small laugh. “I am the Skull Sorcerer.”

Lloyd couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Cole, snap out of it. This isn’t you. You’re not the Skull Sorcerer!”

“YES I AM!” He yelled, whipping his head towards the green ninja. From behind the torn cape arose two large, black, dragon-like wings. Cole lept up and shot towards Lloyd, landing in front of him and pushing him up against the cave’s wall.

Lloyd gasped as Cole’s hand grabbed his neck, pinning him onto the cold stone. He coughed and spluttered as his grip tightened, trying to pry Cole’s hand off. 

“Cole....please,” he choked out, “don’t do this.” Tears streamed down his face as he struggled against the earth master’s grasp. He couldn’t do anything but stare into his brother’s soulless green eyes.

“Do it! Do it!” the skull jeered. “Kill him! Kill him!”

Cole paused for a second, thinking about his options. He could easily kill this weakling and end it, but then again he felt such a thrill from watching him struggle and hearing him plead for his life. No, he could keep the blonde around for a while longer.

He let go of the green ninja’s neck and watched as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. 

“Why let him live?” the skull asked, confused as to why he wouldn’t finish things.

“He could be useful in the future, but regardless it’s fun to watch him squirm.”

Lloyd looked up at the earth ninja, his eyes watering and his throat sore. His vision was blurry and full of spots, but the last thing he remembered was a group of black skeletons dragging him away before being hit in the head and blacking out.

Once Lloyd had been dragged off, Cole turned to King Vangelis, who was still in the cave watching events unfold.

“So you were the Skull Sorcerer, huh?” Cole said, walking closer. He grabbed the king’s chin and poised his face up at him. 

“You’re going to show me how to use this power.”


	2. Best Friend Bygone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their failed search-and-rescue mission for Cole, the ninja ponder their situation and worry for Cole and Lloyd, who are still MIA. Little do they know what's really happening...

“Well, that was a bust.” Jay sighed as one of the undead skeletons locked the door to the cage behind him. Their rescue and escape plan had failed, horribly, and now they were stuck in a cage underground. While they were supposed to be enjoying Shintaro and celebrating the princess’s birthday, no less. 

Nya looked wistfully at the cave’s landscape. “I just hope Cole and Lloyd are alright. If things went wrong out here, odds are the Skull Sorcerer found them.”

“They’re both strong enough to handle themselves, and they’re together. I’m sure they’re alright sis.” Kai said, trying to ease her nerves. “I mean yeah, we can’t use our elemental powers, but they still have spinjitzu. Let’s see the creepy sorcerer try and beat that!”

The team all looked at each other and shared smiles. The tension in the air seemed to lift a bit until the large lava fall in front of the Skull Sorcerer’s fortress parted and the door opened. 

In the distance, the ninja saw a group of black skeletons dragging Lloyd’s unconscious body out. Once they got to the cage with the other ninja, the skeletons opened the door and threw Lloyd in. 

“Lloyd! Hey, wake up green bean!” Kai coaxed, pulling the blonde boy off the ground and turning him over. Kai almost wished he hadn’t, as turning Lloyd over revealed a large, red, bruising mark on his neck. 

Nya covered her mouth and gasped. “Did the Skull Sorcerer do this?”

Jay quickly turned around to the skeletons that just threw Lloyd in the cage. “Where is Cole?” The black skeletons looked at him, but said nothing and walked away. “WHERE IS COLE?!” he yelled, but they continued to walk away.

“I do not mean to make you worry more, Jay, but unfortunately I don’t believe they can provide us much information.” Zane said.

The blue ninja sighed and sat down on the floor of the cell. “Yeah, I know.”

The small cell was cramped with five teenagers trying to sleep comfortably, but there wasn’t much they could do. However, Jay couldn’t sleep, he was wide awake. Even though he was relatively tired and cuddled up next to Nya, he couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve possibly happened to Cole. His anxiety was keeping him up wondering where his best friend was, if he was okay, and what the Skull Sorcerer might’ve done.

Jay groaned and stared up at the ceiling. “Get it together, Jay. Cole’s probably perfectly fine and you’re worrying about nothing.”

“You’re still awake?” Nya murmured. She sat up and looked at her partner, stroking his hair. “Cole’s gonna be okay.” 

“I hope so, what could the Skull Sorcerer be doing?” 

Nya sighed and placed her head in the crook of Jay’s arm. “Let’s wait until tomorrow to figure it out, go to sleep.” she said with a yawn.

Jay rested his head on top of Nya’s and closed his eyes. Her words seemed to wash his worries away as he felt himself drift off to sleep.

At least until the screaming began.

Lloyd had woken up and was shrieking in terror, or as best he could. His voice was hoarse and ragged from seemingly getting choked, and he seemed extremely disoriented.

Kai held Lloyd’s arms down as he tried to thrash around. “Woah woah woah, Lloyd it’s okay. We’re all here. You’re alright.” he said, trying to calm his little brother down.

The terror in his eyes was almost too much for everyone to bear. Whatever had happened inside that cavern, Lloyd was afraid. Very, very afraid.

After minutes of cooing, calming, and reassuring Lloyd he was safe, he seemed to relax and drift back to sleep. Zane did a workup of his body and found a bruising bump on the back of his head. “I believe this head injury has caused a concussion, seeing as Lloyd seems to be disoriented and fatigued.”

“When we get out of this cage I’m gonna pound the Skull Sorcerer into the dirt!” Kai said, clenching his fists. 

Jay felt his stomach drop to his feet. Lloyd was terrified of whatever happened to him, so he could only imagine what happened to Cole. 

Needless to say, he didn’t sleep that night.

“So what’s with all the vengestone mining, huh?” Cole asked, lounging on a large stone throne he created. He had ordered the skeletons to take all the vengestone out of the fortress so he could use his element.

King Vangelis struggled against the chains on his wrists. He never imagined something like this could happen. Why did he let Vania invite the ninja to their kingdom?

Cole yanked at the chain connected to Vangelis’ handcuffs, causing him to fall forward. “I asked you a question, it’d be a big problem for you if you don’t answer me.” he said coldly. “Why are you mining for vengestone?”

“Answer him!” the Skull of Hazza Du’r spat.

“Vengestone is very valuable,” he started, his voice shaking a bit, “and selling it is one of the main ways Shintaro is funded. It’s how everyone lives a lavish lifestyle.”

“So this is all just for money?” Cole asked. He honestly wasn’t expecting that answer.

“Y-yes. I just wanted my people to be happy..”

Cole frowned. “So you started an underground sweatshop?” Vangelis simply hung his head and nodded.

“Ah, so you know you were in the wrong. Well, whatever, I honestly don’t care.” he scoffed. Cole then leaned forward towards the chained king. “So who’s buying all this vengestone then?”

“That is something I cannot and will not reveal to you.”

Before he could react, Cole swung and punched Vangelis across the face. The king hit the ground and tried to cover himself in defense, but the corrupted ninja grabbed his collar and pulled him up to eye level.

“I told you there would be problems if you didn’t answer my questions.”

“Tell him, tell him!” the skull jeered.

Cole glanced over at the floating skull. “Do you know who it is?”

“I am rarely brought to the surface” it replied. Cole frowned and looked back at King Vangelis.

“Now tell me, who are you selling vengestone to?” he spat.

Vangelis scowled at the ninja. “For the safety of my people, I will never tell anyone.”

Cole flung the king across the room, Vangelis hitting the wall and falling to the ground with a groan. As he tried to stand up, he was pushed to the ground again by Cole’s foot on the middle of his back.

“Well if you won’t tell me, I guess I’ll find out if I take the throne of Shintaro for myself.” 

Cole grabbed Vangelis by the collar again and dragged him to the large tunnel descending into the mountain. He made sure the golden wings the king had on earlier were thoroughly destroyed before throwing him down into the abyss.

“Well that takes care of one problem,” Cole said, dusting his hands off and turning back to the skull. “now time to take care of the ninja.”

“Kai, can you stop? We’ve all tried the door, it’s not opening.” Nya said.

Kai continued to try and pry the door off the cell. “No! You saw what happened to Lloyd! I’m not gonna stop until the Skull Sorcerer gets what they deserve!” he said through clenched teeth. 

Jay yawned and rested his head on his hand. He was still pretty tired, but his anxiety was keeping him awake. He was still worried about Cole and Lloyd; one badly hurt, and the other still missing. Why didn’t he believe Cole when he said there was someone in his room? Maybe if he had listened to him...

His thoughts were interrupted by a groan on the other side of the cage. Lloyd sat up and rubbed his head. “Ugh... ow.” he moaned, his voice still hoarse.

“Lloyd, are you alright? How do you feel?” Zane asked, helping him stay upright. 

Lloyd grumbled and covered his face. “Stop talking so loud... why is it so bright?” he rasped.

“Uh, what? It’s pretty dark down here and we’re talking normally.” Jay said with a puzzled look.

“People who sustain concussions tend to become sensitive to light and sound,” Zane replied. “we should talk a bit quieter as to not cause him any more discomfort.”

“Okay, so what happened back there?” Nya whispered. “Where’s Cole?”

“..My head hurts...”

“We know, Lloyd. Please, tell us what happened. Where is Cole?” Jay asked, his voice rising.

“Uh... I dunno.” he said hoarsely.

“You don’t know? How do you not know!! You were just with him!” Jay cried.

“Jay, keep your voice down.” Kai hissed.

“Sorry, I’m just really worried about him.”

Nya sighed. “We know, we all are.”

Suddenly, there was a low rumble from the Skull Sorcerer’s fortress. The waterfall of lava parted and the doors opened. Out came many of the black skeletons, followed by the Skull Sorcerer flying out behind them, the green skull in tow. The skeletons were carrying lots of chains made of vengestone, which the ninja presumed were for them.

Lloyd looked over towards the Skull Sorcerer and went pale. “No, no no no...” he trailed off.

“Hey, it’s okay, we’ll protect you.” Nya consoled. 

“Yeah, we’re gonna kick his ass!” Kai added.

Lloyd looked down and bent over. “No, we can’t...”

Before anyone could ask what he meant, the Skull Sorcerer’s skeletons approached the cell, vengestone in hand.

“It would be a lot better for you didn’t try to resist.” a voice behind the skeletons chimed. 

Jay immediately perked up. There was no way he couldn’t recognize that voice. However, his excitement quickly turned to horror as the figure made its way through the crowd. 

The black skeletons parted to reveal Cole, now clothed similarly to the Skull Sorcerer, eyes glowing, walking towards them with a venomous grin. 

“Cole?” Zane asked, bewildered. 

“Ha, I thought you guys would be happy to see me?” he asked. His voice sounded hollow and cold.

“Cole, what happened to you?” Jay said in shock.

“Oh, not much. I just decided to take this power for myself.”

Lloyd looked up at his corrupted friend. “No, it’s controlling you.” he croaked out.

Cole glared at the green ninja. “Shut up. I should’ve just killed you when I had the chance.” he spat.

Horror spread across the teams' faces. “YOU did this to him!?” Kai yelled as he clenched his fists and jaw. 

“Oh don’t act shocked, wouldn’t you have wanted to since you wanted to be the green ninja soooo bad?” he taunted.

Jay’s jaw dropped. Kai began to stammer in shock as Cole gave them a malicious smile.

“Well anyway, I can’t have you all cause problems, so this vengestone is just for you. Please don’t try anything, or I’ll personally and publicly execute you.”

The ninja didn’t even consider fighting back, as they were all in shock, and Lloyd was still disoriented. They were fitted with cuffs around their wrists, ankles, and braces around their necks and waist. Each of them was fitted with a heavy ball on a chain.

As a skeleton slammed and locked the cell behind it, Jay pulled himself to the door. “Cole, snap out of it! Can’t you see what you’re doing?”

Cole laughed. “No, I’m completely clueless. Of course I do, I’m taking over this mountain, and Shintaro. Who knows? Maybe the rest of Ninjago too.”

“Cole, this isn’t you! You’re our friend! You’re my best friend!” Jay cried, tears beginning to run down his cheeks.

Before Jay could react, Cole turned around and grabbed the brace around his neck and pulled him forward. 

“You really believe that?”

“What?”

“Do you really believe that I would consider your pathetic self to be my “best friend?” Do you really think you’re worth my time?” he said with a malevolent tone. His eyes were burning with spite. Cole pushed Jay backward into the cage and glared. “You’re nothing to me.”

Jay felt his entire body shaking. This wasn’t Cole. This wasn’t his friend. Something was messing with his mind. He couldn’t really mean all that, could he? Tears streamed down his face as Cole turned and began to walk away.

Kai ran up to the cell doors, shaking in rage. “What the hell is wrong with you? Snap out of it, Cole!” 

“Shut up or I’ll gag you too,” he said as he continued towards the fortress, “and you worms will address me as the Skull Sorcerer, and the Skull Sorcerer only.“ With that remark, he spread his wings and flew off, the green skull close behind.

Time seemed to stop after that. Nobody said anything. Was there really anything to say? They had all saw what happened; Cole had taken whatever power the Skull Sorcerer and was now claiming that title for his own. Jay sat with his head in his knees, quietly sniffling and shaking. This couldn’t be happening.

Nya finally broke the silence. “What are we going to do?”

They all looked at each other, and their faces said it all. They had no idea.


End file.
